Folk Tales from Korea

Table of Contents

Folk Tales from Korea

Acknowledgements

1. Dan-Gun, First King of Korea

2. Go Zu-Mong, King of Goguryo

3. The Sun and the Moon

5. The Seven Stars of the North

6. The Three Stars

7. The Mountain and the Rivers

8. The Great Flood

9. The Jewel of the Fox's Tongue

1O. Onions

11. The Heavenly Maiden and the Wood Cutter

12. The Cat and the Dog

13. The Mud-Snail Fairy

14. The Sheep is the Cousin of the Ox

15. The Pheasant, the Dove, the Magpie, and the Rat

16. The Ants and the Hare

17. The Deer, the Hare, and the Toad

18. The Green Frog

19. The Locust, the Ant, and the Kingfisher

20. The Bedbug, the Louse, and the Flea

21. Nails

22. The Nine-Tailed Fox

23. Butterflies

24. The Unmarried Girl's Grave

25. The Man Who Wanted to Bury His Son

26. A Dutiful Son

27. The hake of Zangze

28. Yoni and Her Stepmother

29. The Geomancer's Three Sons

30. The Curse on the Only Son

31. The Secret Royal Inspector, Bag Mun-Su

32. The Legend of Marshal Gang Gam-Czan

33. The Story of General Kim Dog-Nyong

34. The Blind Man and the Devils

35. Young Kim and the Robbers

36. General Pumpkin

37. The Castle of Seoul

38. Rival Magicians

39. The Governor and the Buddhist

40. The Young Man and the Priest

41. Zo Han-Zun who became a Stone Buddha

42. The Story of Admiral Yi

43. The Mast of Sand

44. The Tiger and the Dwarf

45. The Tiger's Grave

46. Hong Do-Ryong, the Filial Tiger

47. The White-eared Tiger

48. The Tiger-Girl

49. The Tiger Priest

50. The Grave of a Faithful Dog

51. The Stone Memorial to a Dog

52. The Deer and the Snake

53. The Pheasants and the Bell

54. The Centipede Girl

55. The Two Brothers and the Magistrate

56. The Story of Zibong

57. The Three Unmarried Ministers

58. The Young Widow

59. The Legend of the Virgin Arang

60. The Story of a Gentleman

61. The Goblin Bridge

62. The Police Marshal

63. The Wife from Heaven

64. The Mallet of Wealth

65. The Three Sons

66. How Foolish Men Are!

67. The Magic Cap

68. The Story-Spirits

69. The Old Tiger and the Hare

70. The Young Gentleman and the Tiger

71. Four Sworn Brothers

72. The Nine-Headed Giant

73. The Mountain Witch and the Dragon-King

74. The Fox-Girl and Her Brother

75. The Traveller, the Fox, and the Tiger

76. The Toad-Bridegroom

77. Sweet Dung, the Cake-Tree, and the Bugle of Life

78. The Ungrateful Tiger

79. The Tiger and the Persimmon

80. The Rat's Bridegroom

81. Three Corpses, Money, and a Wine-Bottle

82. The Aged Father

83. The Judgements of a Magistrate

84. Poisonous Persimmons

85. Lazybones

86. The Bride Who Would Not Speak

87. A Clever Old Bride

88. The Bald Old Man

89. A Selfish Husband

90. A Talkative Old Woman

91. A Foolish Mourner

92. Three Foolish Brides

93. Three Foolish Wives

94. Two Lies

95. A Grain of Millet

96. Two Unfaithful Husbands

97. The Two Sisters, Rose and Lotus

98. The Story of Hong Gil-Dong

99. The Legend of Zon U-Czi

Folk Tales from Korea

Edited and Translated by Zong In-Sob

This page copyright © 2007 Silk Pagoda.

http://www.silkpagoda.com

The myths, legends, fairy tales, fables and old novels have, in translation, lost nothing of their immediacy and robust humor, and will alternately shock, delight and amuse the general reader. As folklore, they are indispensable for those who wish to know and understand Korean culture, history, religion, philosophy and even politics and economics.

A scholar himself, Professor Zong In-Sob has been careful to put on record a source for each of the 99 tales. Since most are based on oral tradition, they make excellent primary source material for folklore studies, but they are told first and foremost to be enjoyed.

Acknowledgements

I would like to take this opportunity of expressing my heartfelt thanks to W. Simon, Dr.Phil., D.Lit., Professor of Chinese in the University of London and Acting Head of the Far East Department of School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, who suggested to me the preparation of this work and kindly wrote the Foreword of this book.

I am especially indebted also to Mr. W. B. Eggington, B.A., who read my manuscript and helped me with valuable suggestions.

Zong In-Sob

PART ONE. MYTHS

1. Dan-Gun, First King of Korea

THERE WAS once a wise and brave Prince, Hwan-Ung by name, son of the Heavenly King. The Prince asked his father to grant him the Beautiful Peninsula of Korea to govern. The King granted his wish, and he was dispatched to the Earth, bearing three Heavenly Seals, and accompanied by three thousand followers.

The Heavenly Prince arrived under the sacred sandalwood tree on the Tebeg Mountains, and ascended the throne. There he established the Sacred City. There were three ministers to carry out his orders, Pung-Beg (Earl Wind), U-Sa (Chancellor Rain), and Un-Sa (Chancellor Cloud), who were charged with the supervision of about three hundred and sixty officials, who controlled all things, such as grain, life, sickness, the determination of good and evil.

At that time a bear and a tiger were living in a big cave near the sandalwood tree. They wished ardently that they could become human beings. Every day they prayed so earnestly before the tree that the Heavenly Prince, who was now the ruler of the land, was moved by their sincerity, and, giving them twenty bulbs of garlic and a bundle of mugwort, he said to them, 'Eat these, and confine yourselves deep in your cave for one hundred days, and then you will become human.'

So the bear and the tiger took the garlic and the mugwort and went into their cave. They prayed earnestly that their wish might be granted. The bear patiently endured weariness and hunger, and after twenty-one days became a beautiful woman, but the tiger ran away, for it could not tolerate long days sitting quietly in the cave.

The woman was overjoyed, and visiting the sandalwood again she prayed that she might become the mother of a child. Her ardent wish was appreciated, and before long she became Queen, and gave birth to a prince, who was given the royal name Dan-Gun, or the Sandalwood King.

The people of the country rejoiced at the birth of the prince, Dan-Gun, who reigned afterwards as the first human king of the peninsula. When he came to the throne he established a new capital at Pyongyang, and gave the kingdom the name of Zoson (Choson—Land of Morning Calm). This was four thousand two hundred and eighty-three years ago. As the King's real name was Wang-Gum, the capital was also known as the Castle of Wang-Gum.

He later removed the capital to Mount Asadal (now Mt. Guwol in Hwang-He Province), where there is now a shrine called Sam-song (Three Saints, Hwan-In, the Heavenly King, Hwan-Ung, the Heavenly Prince, and Dan-Gun, the first human King). It is said that when Dan-Gun abdicated and left his throne to the next king he became a San-sin (Mountain God).

In the Tebeg Mountains, now called Myohyang-San, where the Heavenly Prince descended and the first King was born, there is even to this day a cave, known as the cave of Dan-Gun. There are historical relics of Dan-Gun on Mt. Mai, in Island Ganghwa, near Seoul, also.

From Samguk Yusa and Ondoru Yawa.

2. Go Zu-Mong, King of Goguryo

IN ANCIENT times there was a kingdom called Buyo whose territory included the Korean peninsula and the whole of Manchuria. The King of this land, Heburu, by name, though he had reached an advanced age, was yet without an heir. He therefore prayed constantly to the gods of the mountains and rivers that he might be granted a son. He was out riding one day, and when he came to a pool called Gonyon, his horse stopped, and neighed mournfully at a big stone. He ordered his attendant to turn the stone over, when, lo and behold, there appeared beneath it a little boy in the form of a golden frog. The King was overjoyed to find the boy, and, thinking that he must be a gift from a god, he adopted him as Prince. And he called him Gum-Wa (Golden Frog).

One day one of the King's ministers, Aranbul by name, came to the King and told him that a god had appeared to him in a dream and advised him that they should move to a more fertile land, called Gayobwon, near the Eastern Sea. So the King moved his kingdom thither, and renamed it Dong-Buyo (East Buyo). And after his death the Prince, Gum-Wa, succeeded him, but in his former territory a pretender called Hemosu took the throne, claiming that he was of divine ancestry.

One day the new King was travelling in the land of Ubalsu, south of Mount Tebeg, when he happened to meet a woman, by name Yuhwa, daughter of Habeg (Lord of the River). The King asked her about herself, and she answered, 'I once met a man called Hemosu. He said he was the son of a god. We stayed one night together in a house by the Yalu River, near Mount Ungsim, but after that he never came back. And for this illicit liaison my parents cast me out.'

On hearing her story the King was deeply moved, and he took her and confined her in a room. Sunbeams came streaming in towards her. Though she tried to avoid them she could not, they still fell directly upon her. She soon became pregnant, and in the end she gave birth to an enormous egg, as big as five dwoe (a unit of dry measure).

The King was most displeased by the birth of an egg, and threw it to the dogs and the pigs, but they would not eat it. He cast it out on the streets, but the cows and horses avoided it. He had it taken out into the fields, but the birds tended it under their wings. So he took it back and tried to break it, but it was not to be broken, and so finally he returned it to the mother. She wrapped it in soft cloth and placed it in a warm part of the room. Before long it hatched, and a boy was born from it. He appeared from birth to be very strong and healthy. His mother was very happy, and tended him with great care.

When the boy was six years old he could already shoot with the bow, and soon became so skilful that he outstripped all rivals. He was thereupon given the name of Zu-Mong, because from the earliest times the champion archer had been called so.

The King had seven sons. The eldest, Deso, was jealous of Zu-Mong, and said to his father, 'Zu-Mong was born from an egg. I think he is a dangerous character. I advise you to get rid of him at once, for if you do not he may sow seeds of trouble.' But the King ignored this suggestion, and appointed Zu-Mong to the care of his horses. Zu-Mong fed the better horse sparingly, in order that it might become thin and weak, and on the other hand he fed the other lavishly that it might become fat and appear to be strong. This he did because he already suspected the malice of others toward himself, and wished to be prepared for what might happen in the future.

One day the King decided to go hunting, and, riding the fat horse himself, bade Zu-Mong ride the thin one. In the field the King was hindered in his hunting by the slowness of his horse, whereas Zu-Mong was most successful even with the poor bow and arrows that he had, since the horse he rode was really the better one.

Now the King was anxious about possible dangers, and, influenced by the malicious designs of the Princes and his ministers, was inclined to have Zu-Mong killed. His mother Yuhwa guessed this evil intention, and earnestly advised her son to escape. He fled with three followers, Zoi, Mari, and Hyobbu, and came to the river Omczesu. But there was no bridge, and they were hotly pursued by the King's men. So Zu-Mong prayed to the River God, 'I am the son of a god, and of the daughter of Habeg. I am beset by the gravest of dangers. Save me, oh, please save me!'

Then marvellous to relate, there came swimming in the river a great crowd of fish and tortoises, and they formed a bridge with their backs. So they crossed the river with ease, but their pursuers could not follow, for the fish and tortoises immediately swam away.

Zu-Mong and his followers went on their way and came to the valley of Modun, where they met three wise men, Zesa, Mugol, and Muggo. He asked them to assist him in founding a new kingdom. The three wise men agreed and followed him, and he bestowed on them the family names of Gugsi, Zungsil, and Sosil respectively.

So Zu-Mong went to Zolbonczon with his three followers and the three wise men, and founded a new capital there, for it was a fertile spot, surrounded by steep mountains and traversed by a beautiful river. Until such time as he might be able to build himself a palace he built temporary dwellings of thatched houses on the banks of the Bullyu River. His kingdom he called Goguryo, and took as his family name the first syllable Go.

Thus Go Zu-Mong became the first king of Goguryo, two thousand three hundred and two years ago.

From Samguk Sagi, Vol. 13.

3. The Sun and the Moon

LONG, LONG AGO there lived an old woman who had two children, a son and a daughter. One day she went to a neighbouring village to work in a rich man's house. When she left to come back home, she was given a big wooden box containing buckwheat puddings. She carried it on her head, and hastened back to her waiting children. But on the way, as she passed a hill, she met a big tiger.

The tiger blocked her path, and opening its great red mouth asked, 'Old woman, old woman! What is that you are carrying on your head?' The old woman replied fearlessly, 'Do you mean this, Tiger? It is a box of buckwheat puddings that I was given at the rich man's house where I worked to-day.' Then the tiger said, 'Old woman, give me one. If you don't, I will eat you up.' So she gave the tiger a buckwheat pudding, and it let her pass the hill.

When she came to the next hill the tiger appeared before her and asked her the same question, 'Old woman, old woman, what have you got in that box you are carrying on your head?' And, thinking it was another tiger, she gave the same answer, 'These are buckwheat puddings I was given at the rich man's house where I worked to-day.' The tiger asked for one in the same way. And the old woman gave it a pudding from her box, and it went off into the forest.

The tiger then appeared several more times and made the same demand, and each time she gave it a pudding, until there were no more left in the box. So now she carried the empty box on her head, and she walked along swinging her arms at her sides. Then the tiger appeared again, and demanded a pudding. She explained that she had none left, saying, 'Your friends ate all my buckwheat puddings. There is nothing at all left in my box.' Thereupon she threw the box away. Then the tiger said, 'What are those things swinging at your sides?' 'This is my left arm, and this is my right arm,' she replied. 'Unless you give me one of them, I will eat you up,' roared the tiger. So she gave it one of her arms, and it walked off with it. But not long afterwards it appeared in front of her again, and repeated its threats. So she gave it her other arm.

Now the old woman had lost all her puddings, her box, and even both her arms, but she still walked along the mountain road on her two legs. The greedy tiger barred her way once more and asked, 'What is that, moving under your body?' She answered, 'My legs, of course.' The tiger then said, in a rather strange tone, 'Oh, in that case, give me one of your legs, or I will eat you up.' The old woman got very angry, and complained, 'You greedy animal! Your friends ate all my puddings, and both my arms as well. Now you want my legs. However will I be able to get back to my home?' But the tiger would not listen to her, and persisted in its demand. 'If you give me your left leg, you can still hop on your right leg, can't you?' So she had to take off her left leg, and throw it to the tiger, and then she set off homewards, hopping on her other leg. The tiger ran ahead of her, and barred her way again. 'Old woman, old woman! Why are you hopping like that?' it asked. She shouted furiously, 'You devil! You ate all my puddings, both my arms, and one of my legs. However can I go home if I lose my right leg too?' The tiger answered, 'You can roll, can't you?' So she cut off her right leg, and gave it to the tiger. She set out to roll over and over along the road. Then the tiger rushed after her, and swallowed what was left of her in a single gulp.

Back at the old woman's home her two children waited till nightfall for her to return. Then they went inside and locked the door, and lay down hungry on the floor, for they did not know that a tiger had eaten their mother on her way home.

The cunning tiger dressed in the old woman's clothes, and put a white handkerchief on its head. Then, standing erect on its hind legs, it walked to the old woman's house and knocked at the door. It called to the two children, 'My dears, you must be very hungry. Open the door. I have brought you some buckwheat puddings.' But the children remembered the advice their mother had given them when she went out in the morning, 'There are tigers about. Be very careful.' They noticed that the voice sounded rather strange, and so they did not open the door, and said, 'Mother, your voice sounds rather strange. What has happened to you?' So the tiger disguised its voice and said, 'Don't be alarmed. Mother is back. I have spent the day spreading barley to dry on mats, and the sparrows kept flying down to eat it, so that I had to shout loudly at them all day long to drive them away. So I have got rather hoarse.' The children were not convinced, and asked again, 'Then, Mother, please put your arm in through the hole in the door, and let us see it.' The tiger put one of its forepaws in the hole in the door. The children touched it and said, 'Mother, why is your arm so rough and hairy?' So the tiger explained, 'I was washing clothes, and I starched them with rice paste. That must have made my arm rough.' But the children peeped out through the hole in the door, and were surprised to see a tiger there in the darkness. So they slipped quietly out the back door, and climbed a tall tree and hid among the branches.

The tiger waited for a while, but as it got no further reply from inside, it broke into the house, and searched in vain for the children. It came out in a furious temper, and rushed round the house with terrible roars, till it came to an old well underneath the tree. It looked down at the water, and there saw the reflections of the two children. So it forced a smile and tried to scoop up the reflections, and said in a gentle voice, 'Oh, my poor children. You have fallen into the well. I haven't got a bamboo basket, or even a grass one. How can I save you?' The children watched the tiger's antics from above, and could not help bursting out laughing. Hearing their laughter it looked up, and saw them high in the tree. It asked in a kindly voice, 'How did you get up there? That's very dangerous. You might fall into the well. I must get you down. Tell me how you got up so high.' The children replied, 'Go to the neighbours and get some sesame oil. Smear it on the trunk and climb up.'

So the stupid tiger went to the house next door and got some sesame oil and smeared it thickly on the trunk and tried to climb up. But of course the oil made the tree very slippery. So the tiger asked again, 'My dear children. You are very clever, aren't you? However did you get up there so easily, right to the top? Tell me the truth.' This time they answered innocently, 'Go and borrow an axe from the neighbours. Then you can cut footholds on the trunk. 'So the tiger went and borrowed an axe from the house next door, and, cutting steps in the tree, began to climb up.

The children now thought that they would not be able to escape from the tiger, and in great terror prayed to the God of Heaven. 'Oh God, please save us. If you are willing, please send us the Heavenly Iron Chain. But if you mean us to die, send down the Rotten Straw Rope!' At once a strong Iron Chain came gently down from Heaven to them, so that they could climb up without difficulty.

When the tiger reached the top of the tree the children were gone. It wanted to follow them, so it too began to pray, but in opposite terms, because it was very afraid that it might be punished for its misdeeds. 'Oh God of Heaven, if you would save me, send down the Rotten Straw Rope, I beg of you. But if you mean me to die, please send down the Heavenly Iron Chain.' By praying in this way, it hoped that the Iron Chain would come down, and not the Straw Rope, for it expected that as a punishment it would receive the opposite of what it had prayed for. But the gods are straightforward, and always willing to save lives by answering prayers directly, and so it was the Rotten Straw Rope that came down after all. The tiger seized the rope, and began to climb up it, for in the darkness it could not see that it was not the chain. When it got a little way up the rope broke, and so it fell down to the ground. It crashed down in a field of broom-corn, where it died crushed and broken, its body pierced through by the sharp stems of the corn. From that day, it is said, the leaves of broom-corn have been covered with blood red spots.

The two children lived peacefully in the Heavenly Kingdom, until one day the Heavenly King said to them, 'We do not allow anyone to sit here and idle away the time. So I have decided on duties for you. The boy shall be the Sun, to light the world of men, and the girl shall be the moon, to shine by night.' Then the girl answered, 'Oh King, I am not familiar with the night. It would be better for me not to be the moon.' So the King made her the Sun instead, and made her brother the moon.

It is said that when she became the Sun people used to gaze up at her in the sky. But she was a modest girl, and greatly embarrassed by this. So she shone brighter and brighter, so that it was impossible to look at her directly. And that is why the sun is so bright, that her womanly modesty might be for ever respected.

Ondoru Yawa, told by O Hwa-Su; Onyang (1911).

4. The Fire Dogs

THERE ARE MANY countries in Heaven, just as there are in the world below. One of them is called Gamag Nara, the Land of Darkness, and its inhabitants keep many horrible dogs. They are known as Fire Dogs. The King of that land is greatly concerned before all else that his realm is so dark. So from time to time he sends his dogs to the world of men to try to steal the Sun or the Moon.

Once upon a time the King summoned the fiercest of his Fire Dogs and ordered it to go and steal the Sun and bring it to him. So the Fire Dog went off, and tried to seize the Sun in its mouth, but it was too hot. It snapped at it again and again, but in the end it had to give up, and returned without its prey. The King was very angry, and reprimanded the dog severely for its failure. Then he turned to the next fiercest dog, and sent it to try to steal the Moon, for he thought that it might not be so hot as the Sun. The Moon would not give him as much light as the Sun of course, but he thought it would be better than nothing. But when the dog tried to bite the Moon, it was so cold that it froze its mouth. It tried repeatedly to grasp it with its teeth, but in the end was obliged to spit it out. And so the second Fire Dog too had to return without the prize.

Despite these failures the King of the Land of Darkness never gave up hope, and to this day he often sends out his Fire Dogs, but they always fail in the end.

It is said that eclipses of the Sun and Moon are caused in this way by Fire Dogs from the Land of Darkness. It is the parts of the Sun or Moon that they bite which show dark during an eclipse.

We cannot watch an eclipse of the sun directly because it is so dazzlingly bright, but it can easily be seen in the reflection of the sun in a basin of water in which a little black ink has been dissolved. An eclipse of the moon can also be watched in the same way. We can easily see on the inky surface of the water the Fire Dog biting the sun and then spitting it out again.

Told by Zong Teg-Ha; Onyang (1912).

5. The Seven Stars of the North

ONCE UPON A time there lived a widow, who had seven most filial sons. Every winter they used to cut wood in the mountains so that they could keep a fire burning constantly under the floor of their house and make it warm enough for their aged mother to sleep warm at night. But she always looked very cold and sad. However much wood they burnt, she always felt the cold. In fact, she always complained